Mwende shows the amputated arm. (Photo/the-star.co.ke)
Tears of joy flowed from a victim of domestic violence, Judith Mwende, after a senior resident magistrate sitting in a Makindu Court sentenced her husband to life in prison.
Reuben Kivuva was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of chopping off the hands and leg of the 29-year-old spouse in a family dispute. The victim, who now has to rely on prosthetic limbs, says her husband locked her in the house and cut off her limbs accusing her of infidelity.
Neighbours, who were also witnesses in the year-long case said they were unable to access the house when they responded to the woman’s distress call because it was locked from within.
Stephanie Mutuku said the man, a butcher, later emerged from the house, hopped onto a motorcycle and fled. “His blood-soaked shoes left imprints as he walked across the plot,” she said.
The neighbors called the police who took her to a hospital where she had her injured hands amputated. Yesterday, justice Gerald Mutiso found the suspect guilty of attempted murder and jailed him for life.
Accompanied by her elderly mother Regina Wayua, Mwende said she is satisfied with the verdict, although her situation remains dire.
“This heinous act has left me a complete dependent. My mother had to leave her home to take care of me because I cannot even do the basics including taking a bath and attending the call of nature,” she said.